• Young Users Want Wanelo More Than Pinterest
    Watch out for Wanelo, which, according to some, is shaping up to be the next Pinterest. Among millions of other young users, Wanelo is the product discovery service of choice for Brooke Ward, a 16-year-old from Wamego, KS. "Me and my friends use [Wanelo's app] before we go online," Ward told attendees of MediaPost's Search Insider Summit on Tuesday. Along with two other teens, Ward was participating on the panel, "Influencing Young Consumers in the Age of Snapchat, WhatsApp and the Next Big Thing." As of last summer, the startup reportedly had about 11 million users, compared to the roughly …
  • Test, Test, Test (!) To Tell What Works
    Unfortunately for brands, "The idea that [anyone] can predict how people are going to search, and what people are going to want is ... almost impossible," according to Alyson Kaye, Marketing Professor at Bentley University. That's why marketers need to test, test, test, Kaye told attendees of MediaPost's Search Insider Summit on Tuesday. Brands "have to take directional insights to develop content," she said. "If you're not testing, then you're not learning." Added Kaye: "It's the only way you're going to understand [consumer] behavior." What are Summit attendees testing? It depends, obviously. If click-through rates are the issue, then ad …
  • Do Past Purchases Predict The Future?
    Do past purchases predict future purchase behavior? A Tuesday morning panel at MediaPost's Search Insider Summit agreed to disagree. Aside from staple products, the past absolutely does not inform future purchases, said Joelle Kaufman, Head of Marketing and Partnerships at BloomReach. "Historical purchase behavior is not a predictor," she said. Just because someone bought a lighting fixture to redecorate their bedroom doesn't mean they're ever going to buy another light fixture, according to Kaufman. Not buying her argument were Shreya Kushari, SVP of Search Marketing at DigitasLBi, and Jeff MacGurn, SVP at Covario. It just requires that retailers take a …
  • Target: Mobile (i.e., Cartwheel) Is The Future Of Retail
    Target sees "mobile as the future of retail," according to David Peterson, Digital Marketing Senior Group Manager at Target -- and the future of mobile retail could like a lot like Cartwheel. About a year since its launch, Target couldn't be more excited about the mobile app, which helps in-store shoppers keep track of coupons. "We're so happy with Cartwheel," Peterson told attendees of MediaPost's Search Insider Summit on Tuesday. Along with gaming elements, the app is highly social. In fact, shoppers are encouraged to sign into Cartwheel using their Facebook accounts, and then share their daily savings with "friends." …
  • What's The Lifetime Cost, Value of A Customer?
    I'm always interested in how search marketers find new customers and what it costs to keep during their entire lifetime. At the MediaPost Search Insider Summit Monday, Dale Edman, VP of ecommerce at Wasserstrom, said some companies define "customer" as any person that purchases for a second time. It takes two times. Effie Philippakos, Director of Analytics at AIG, said search marketers should look for consumers responding positively, not just the clicks. 
  • CMOs Still Need To Sell Search To C-Suite
    Here's a CMO who believes in content. It seems that the C-suite should understand, but it turns out that CMOs still need to sell the value of search, in part, because of the long sales time in the financial industry. Some relate to content, while other issues point to educating others. The frustration comes in to play when trying to explain search, which evolves quickly through long sales cycles. It means explaining an evolving strategy, but using old metrics that don't work with long sale's cycle, said Chris Moloney, CMO at Wells Fargo Advisors.
  • SIS: Where You'll Find The Future Of Search
    Ah, Key Largo. The Search Insider Summit kicked off on Monday with MediaPost Publisher Ken Fadner providing the opening remarks, and Chris Copeland, CEO, GroupM Next, a forward looking organization, looking at where he thinks search will go. He's looking during the next three days for information on process vs. results, how search marketers do the stuff they do. It's not just about the process. Where's the money? What does the TV version of search look like in the future? Listen in. We're streaming the conference live on the MediaPost Web site. Next time you can join us here.
  • The Buzz Behind Email (Or Is It The Email Behind Buzzfeed?)
    Now that Buzzfeed has emerged as one of the most powerful publishing platforms in the business -- one that is credited with adopting and adapting the most state-of-the-art bells-and-whistles of digital technology (plus plenty of kitten photos and videos) -- I suppose it's safe to say that it had some seemingly lowly roots: An email string. But in a way, that's the whole point, according to Dan Oshinsky, who also happens to be Buzzfeed's newsletter editor.
  • Vanity metrics. Just for show?
    Vanity metrics for email marketing-- what’s the value?Some digital marketers consider metrics such as registered users, downloads, and raw pageviews "vanity" metrics. Speaking MediaPost’s Email Marketing Summit, Chris Marriott, vp of services/principal consultant of The Revelancy Group asks a panel of executives whether they consider vanity metrics.Florence Ho, senior director of International marketing/loyalty of Wyndham Worldwide, says her company only looks standard metrics, such as direct revenue through email, engagement, clicks, and open rates.Nancy Shaver, consulting principal of Experian Marketing Services, says: “What tends to clear out the noise is looking at what metrics aligns with …
  • Keeping KPIs In The Client's Court
    What's the least intelligent question a client can ask his or her email pro? How about, "What are our KPIs?" Right. That query recently took the wind out of Kara Trivunovic, VP of Strategic Services at email marketing firm BlueHornet. "I can't make that decision for you!" Trivunovic thought to herself, as she recalled the recent exchange to attendees of MediaPost's Email Marketing Summit on Friday. Still -- while such decisions are ultimately up to individual clients -- Trivunovic admitted that choosing the right performance indicators can stump the more experienced marketers. Not only do they change from campaign to …
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